Common iPhone Charging Port Problems

Recently, we discussed potential problems with your iPhone’s battery, and what you can do to fix it. However, if your iPhone has issues while it is charging, the issue could be the battery, but it could be an issue with the charging port. If your phone doesn’t start charging immediately after plugging it in, or if you have to wiggle in a charging cable just the right way to make it charge, then there is an issue that needs to be fixed. To pinpoint what that issue is, follow these steps.

Check your iPhone’s battery health.

Be sure to check your iPhone’s battery health to ensure that your battery is functional. If you have a battery that is drained of energy or health, it won’t matter one way or the other how functional your charging port is. Ensure that the battery is strong before continuing. (As a reminder, an iPhone battery with health below 90% needs replacement.

See if the problem is possibly with the outlet, the wall plug, or the cable.

It might be simple to assume that charging your iPhone is as simple as plugging in the iPhone, but if you break down the steps, you are plugging an iPhone to a cord, which connects to a wall plug, which connects to an electrical outlet. There are multiple factors that could be causing your iPhone to not charge properly in this particular moment. You’ll want to identify which piece of the process is malfunctioning, so you’ll need to experiment. First, plug the phone, cord, and wall plug into a different electrical outlet. Then, try and use a different wall plug. If that doesn’t fix the issue, try a different cord.

If all else fails, if somebody else in your household has an iPhone as well, plug that iPhone in. Doing this will isolate what the problem is. The good news is, if the problem was a faulty wall plug or cord, that can easily be replaced. However, if the problem is your iPhone, then you’ll want to continue to find a solution to the problem of why your iPhone isn’t charging.

Ensure that your charging port is clean.

You carry your phone with you everywhere, typically in your pocket or your purse. Unfortunately, your phone has to also share that space with other objects and items, items that can dirty up your charging port. Before you see if your charge port is actually damaged, try and (carefully) clean out the charging port. One way to do so is with tweezers, carefully pulling any lint/debris out of the port. With this, just be careful not to accidentally scrape the sides of the iPhone port (especially the bottom side) as this could more seriously damage the phone. As an alternative, you can use 99% rubbing alcohol and a toothbrush to brush out the inside. While this is good for getting out smaller pieces of dirt, larger pieces of lint (such as those that you’d find in your pant pockets) will need to come out via tweezer.

This can seem alarming to people who aren’t used to dealing with phone repair. If the prospect of playing Operation with your very expensive iPhone makes you feel nervous, feel free to come into Tricked Out, where our experienced technicians will clean out the charging port for free!

If all else fails, bring your iPhone in to be repaired.

It’s a common misfortune of life—sometimes, things break, even your phone. Perhaps it was dropped once in exactly the wrong way; perhaps the making of the phone simply led it to this moment. Regardless, if your phone doesn’t start charging after following these steps, it’s time for you to take your phone in to be examined. Fortunately, our technicians at Tricked Out Accessories are trained to be able to fix most charging issues! You don’t have to suffer with a phone that functions below capacity; bring your phone in today and we will be more than happy to bring it back to health!